Cognitive Learning

What?
This week, we learned about that brain and how it works and develops. We studied Piaget and Vygotsky and how to best use this knowledge. Piaget taught that students learn the things you’re teaching and then they put them into use. Piaget had 4 stages for his cognitive development: Sensor Motor Stage, Preoperational Stage, Concrete Operations Stage, and Formal Operations Stage. Piaget believed that the students control their own views on the knowledge they learn. Piaget also believed that the student’s environment influenced their learning. As teachers we learn how to put his knowledge to work in how we present things to the students.

Vygotsky differs from Piaget in his outlook on cognitive learning. He taught that the student has to have interaction with adults to enable them to foster the ideas and then they will develop their cognitive learning. He believed that the students need the adults to help them process the way that they should perform a task and that the adults will help the student accomplish the task they are learning. Educators feel that by looking at it from Vygotsky’s viewpoint, that it will be helpful to know the student’s cultural and social settings. Vygotsky believed that these make a difference in the student’s learning.

Linguistics was another learning tool that we gained more understanding about. We found that we need to start a vocabulary with our students to help them develop the terminology that will be used in classroom. This will also be useful in their everyday life.

So What?
What we accomplished this week was the ability to study different ideas on how students learn. Both Piaget and Vygotsky had good points to bring to the educator’s attention. Now as teachers we will need to assess our students and what works best for them. We might find ourselves using some of both of their ideas. I found it interesting that linguistics plays a part in how our students will be able to communicate with both their fellow students and the teacher. A good teacher will take the things they learn and be able to expand on them in future classroom experiences. This week has given us some good things to file away for future use.

Now What?
I need to make my classroom a place where the students can fully understand the concepts I am trying to teach them. To do this I will have to observe my students and test different ways to see what works best for them. The experiences they will have while in my class need to be enjoyable, but also useful in the business world. The business world also has its own form of language, and by introducing the students to these vocabulary words they will be able to better understand the things being taught to them.